


the soldier and the water tribe boy

by bellefleuur (epanouiii)



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Ending, Bender Sokka (Avatar), Fanfiction of Fanfiction, Firebender Sokka (Avatar), Gen, Sad Ending, Short, What-If, Young Sokka (Avatar), i made it sadder ppl, this is sad and u may cry idk
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-29
Updated: 2020-08-29
Packaged: 2021-03-06 17:47:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 525
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26172934
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/epanouiii/pseuds/bellefleuur
Summary: The man is standing in front of him, and Sokka, ten years old and afraid, forgets about his boomerang and throws up his hands.Or, in this life his dad doesn't save him
Comments: 7
Kudos: 79





	the soldier and the water tribe boy

**Author's Note:**

  * For [courierhawk](https://archiveofourown.org/users/courierhawk/gifts).
  * Inspired by [Poison from the Sire](https://archiveofourown.org/works/17525105) by [courierhawk](https://archiveofourown.org/users/courierhawk/pseuds/courierhawk). 



> this is dedicated to courierhawk bc their sokka as a bender au is so good and i love it immensely. when i was rereading their fic, this part of it stuck out to me specifically and i felt the need to write an alternative ending because im evil. 
> 
> hope u enjoy!!
> 
> tw in end notes

The man is standing in front of him, and Sokka, ten years old and afraid, forgets about his boomerang and throws up his hands. From his chest, through to his shoulders and down his arms pours a wave of fire, so big and so bright that it hurts his eyes to see. He feels warm, warmer than he’s felt in years, and he cannot help the anger and fear that well up within him. 

As the fire escapes from his fingertips, his heart flares like a star. This heat that has burnt within him for so long he no longer questioned it bursts free. But no matter how overwhelming it may feel to him, a long-awaited moment of power and strength and life, the soldier bats it away without a second glance, his hand turning the flames into the air. 

Behind his helmet, the soldier’s eyes, once full of bloodlust, soften with confusion. His stare traces over Sokka’s face—his dark hair and his gold eyes, so very different to the rest of his village, so much that it _aches_ —and his confusion visibly abates. In its place comes a steely resolve that has Sokka backing away, his footsteps melting the snow under his feet. “You don’t belong here, kid,” the soldier says, reaching for him with the hand that defended against his fire.

In another life, Sokka’s dad would come to save him. He would tackle the solider trying to kidnap him to the ground and kill to save his son in all but blood. And Sokka’s fire would hurt him in return, as if punishing them both. 

But in this life, his dad is on the other side of the battlefield, engaged in a fight with two other soldiers, and there is no one to save him.

The man’s hand grips around Sokka’s bicep and _pulls._ Sokka screams, cries out, but it does not reach over the shouts of the men. No one can hear him save for his captor, the soldier with the confused eyes, who simply hauls his small body over his shoulder and climbs over the fallen wall of the Southern Water Tribe.

Sokka, his head hitting the back of the man taking him away, looks at the wreckage of what was once his village, for it is the last time he will see it in years. Their homes are destroyed, walls torn down and inhabitants—Sokka’s neighbours—killed. Through the terror, he spies his home in the distance, intact. But his blood, for the first time in his life, freezes as a man pushes aside the curtain and walks inside. His mother is in there. His cries get louder, his whole body shakes from the force of his tears, and his small fists beat the back of the man trying to take him away. “No, No! Mum, please! Dad! Dad!” He screams his voice hoarse, but they cannot hear him. His dad is fighting for his life, for his home, and his mum is dying to save it. 

No one notices as a soldier with a small Water Tribe boy hanging from his shoulder slips back onto the ship.

**Author's Note:**

> tw: child kidnapping, genocide, war crimes at the hand of the fire nation, mentions of death


End file.
